Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has retired 20 permanent secretaries, as he continues his drive to cut costs and generate more revenue for the state. This decision comes after the governor reduced the number of ministries in the state from 19 to 13.

According to a statement by the governor’s spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, five departments will now be headed by permanent secretaries, bringing the total number of permanent secretaries in the state’s civil service to 18.

In a similar vein, governor El-Rufai announced Thomas Gyang as his new adviser on Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence. Gyang, a 1978 Quantity Survey graduate from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, brings a wealth of experience in government and private sectors spanning 35 years.

Also, the governor appointed Ibrahim Muhammad Aminu to head the state’s Local Government Service Commission, while a former vice-chairman of Kaduna South local government, Ezekiel Baba Karik, will head the State Emergency Management Agency.